Hi all, Its time for me to start a new project. I found and brought home a 65 Riviera today and cant wait to start digging into her. Shes been sitting for at least 8 years and is begging for some attention. The body isnt nearly as bad as the photos portray, only one rust through, a couple larger but fixable dents and some bondo. 90% of the trim is there and clean. 95% of the interior is there and in good shape. All glass is accounted for and not cracked. No motor, no tranny but thats ok for now. plenty of work to do before we get there. My lofty goal is to make "Back to the 50's" but probably not realistic. I will post as i go and probably have many questions for you guys. You all have helped me through my 50 door merc project and im excited for this one!
another "this will be fast and cheap" projects - Ha! - tons of potential - keep the wheels and do a wild paint job with lots of big gold flake
Right now, im leaning bright white with black interior, chrome and black wheels thinking of blacking out in between the chrome where it allows. (clamshells, upper trunk filler panel) With the right to change my mind
Yea, i know what year it is, Thanks. Im guessing you havent been to the 50's since you didnt get the joke
- ya, it is 2021 - Ha! confuse the average non Buick expert by putting a pair of headlights, which this vintage Riviera never had and call it any year you want to meet '64 cut off year
Was going to be my question! Back to the fifties must not really be back to the fifties? Weird. Anyway, in addition to a Continental MkII, one of these has been on my list. In the late 70's to early 80's they were fairly cheap around here. If only... (Not Continentals, they were never here)
Yeah, I don’t remember when it happened but the cutoff was moved from 1959 to 1964 . Doesn’t make any sense.. because you know nothing says “back to the fifties “ like a 1963 falcon. The show is so large that it could easily be put back. I am sure it is a greed thing
My understanding is that they just want to keep the mustangs out. Otherwise it would go from 12000 car to 40000.
Well, pulled out all the interior and trim and actually its not to bad! Whole truck pan will need to be replaced but only a couple spots on the passenger floor. Pleasantly surprised.
Had a '66 GS Rivi with the 455". Love all of the '64 through '66's. Classy then and even classier now, with timeless lines. Nice find!
Replace the heater core now or you will need to pull out the entire interior again to do so. My first job as an apprentice mechanic was a heater core in one of those. 40 years later I still have the nightmares.
I had a friend with a lowered Riviera. He was one of those guys that wore sunglasses at night, and listened to Wolfman Jack. He may have smoked funny stuff too..... That was so long ago...
1950sled, You can find a lot of great information and advice by joining the Riviera Owners Association, www.rivowners.org.
He has to use the '65 the DeLorean is on the fritz. @1950sled neat old heap man. I always wanted one of those old Rivs. They are just smooth from the factory
Hello, The 1963 to 1965 Buick Riviera models stayed true to the original design. The 66 started to grow and the 67-68 models were actually the best definition of road hogs. Not to chuckle at my dad, but after buying his first 1963 Buick Riviera as his daily driver, that sedan was the epitome of luxury and class back then. (he was happy his two sons liked his new car choice.) A new design was something and actually driving around inside was almost as good as a full throttle acceleration of our old 58 Impala. Nothing needed to be done to that 63 as it had leather seats, A/C and the rest was just good cruising history. Our dad was happy that his sons were so enthralled with his new purchase in 1963. It was his second 2 door sedan and out of all of his Buick purchases, the 63 Riviera was the best. So, after his requisite 4 plus years of ownership of any of his old Buick sedans, he was in the market for a new one. Because of his son getting married in 1968, he wanted a new car to take us to the wedding and reception site. Boy, what a difference between the cool, sleek 1963 Riviera and the huge land barge of a 1968 model Buick Riviera. It was like night and day. One was sleek and very cool. The newer model was big, wide and not so cool looking. One thing it had going for it was that it was so wide, that it looked lowered, as it sat in our driveway. The heavy body just looked like it was squashing the springs to make it look lowered. For us, we took it to Laguna Beach for a nice cruise and to get our wedding rings made at a custom jeweler’s store. The cruise down the coast was cool with the A/C blasting. People looked at us like we were from outer space. It was not a beach city cruiser, but an inland yacht. By the time we got to our destination of Laguna Beach, we could not park in any designated, parking spot on Coast Highway or in any certified parking lot, as the 1968 Buick Riviera was too large to fit. So, we had to park across the street in an open neighborhood housing street with no specific designated parking spaces. Jnaki So, enjoy your 1965 Buick Riviera build and the final outcome will be rather cool. It was/is a classic design from GM and will forever be a cool car for all ages. The 1963 certainly was a great start for several years of the original design Buick Riviera models. Good luck and have fun.
With only a couple pin holes to repair, the floors are done outside of the trunk pan. So why not start sanding her down and put her in primer.
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